Review
“Palestinian-American artist Fareed Armaly, in collaboration with Palestinian filmmaker Rashid Masharawi emphasizes the incongruities between abstractions and lived experiences in From/to 2002. A large installation spanning two rooms and part of a hallway at Documenta Hall, From/to 2002 contrasts official cartographic representations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with daily experiences of Palestinians in various settings as depicted in three of Masharawi’s films. The central film, Checkpoint, illustrates the frustrating and time consuming experience of travelers required to stop at military checkpoints distributed throughout the occupied territories. The film relates to the maps in documenting an official technique to control perceptions of geographical space. As Masharawi’s films include narratives developed by Palestinians in Diaspora, From/to 2002 also concerns the continuation and transformations of Palestinian history and the development of new forms of agency.”
(Excerpt)